Spencer Tops Strike King Co-Angler Division

GAINESVILLE, Ga. (Feb. 20, 2023) – Boater Justin Nalley of Hampton, Georgia, caught a five-bass limit weighing 22 pounds, 8 ounces, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Lanier. The tournament was the first event of the 2023 season for the BFL Bulldog Division. Nalley earned $5,970 for his victory.

Nalley’s win came in his first BFL event fished as a boater after learning the tournament ropes in prior seasons as a co-angler.

“I can’t even really fathom this,” said Nalley. “It hasn’t really set in yet. I had fished as a co-angler for four years and had some early success and just stuck with it. Then last year, for my 30^thbirthday, my wife surprised me with a bass boat she had bought from my father-in-law. So I took the leap and registered as a boater.”

Nalley said he practiced on Lanier before the tournament but only managed to catch three fish Thursday and two Friday.

“On tournament day I knew from past experience that the tournament would be won on the south end of the lake where the big spotted bass live,” Nalley said. “So, I started offshore fishing chunk rock and caught two fish early.

“Then I started running new stuff,” Nalley went on to say. “I caught a big spotted bass, a 5-7, which is my personal best for a spotted bass, then ran into a creek and caught my personal best largemouth on Lanier.”

Nalley relocated, caught some short fish, then managed to catch his fifth keeper – a largemouth. Nalley said his baits of choice during the day were a Berkley Powerbait The General Worm, a Rapala DT8 crankbait around chunk rock for spotted bass and an Advantage Bait Company Jawbreaker jig in the backs of creeks.

“The bites weren’t plentiful; they were really spread out, Nalley said. “But when I caught that last keeper I thought maybe I had a shot at winning,” Nalley said. “I was lowballing my weight and thought I had maybe 17 or 18 pounds.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Justin Nalley, Hampton, Ga., five bass, 22-8, $5,970
2nd:       Alex Prince, Blue Ridge, Ga., five bass, 21-2, $2,582
3rd:       Paul Marks, Cumming, Ga., five bass, 21-0, $2,222 (includes $500 Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus)
4th:        Matthew O’Connell, Brooks, Ga., five bass, 20-14, $1,505
5th:        Randy Dover, Buford, Ga., five bass, 20-1, $1,033
6th:        Rene Leon, Flowery Branch, Ga., five bass, 19-3, $947
7th:        Brad Stalnaker, Eatonton, Ga., five bass, 18-15, $861
8th:        Richie Brown, Dahlonega, Ga, five bass, 18-11, $775
9th:        Matt Green, Cartersville, Ga., five bass, 18-8, $646
9th:        Reid Daniel, Gainesville, Ga., five bass, 18-8, $646

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Nalley’s biggest largemouth that weighed 5 pounds, 13 ounces, also earned him the Berkley Big Bass Boater award of $805.

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Lance Spencer of Donalsonville, Georgia, won the Strike King co-angler division and a total of $2,582 Saturday, after bringing five bass to the scale that totaled 17 pounds, 11 ounces.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers finished:

1st:        Lance Spencer, Donalsonville, Ga., five bass, 17-11, $2,582
2nd:       Jake Staley, Atlanta, Ga., five bass, 16-13, $1,291
3rd:       Colton Sowash, Gainesville, Ga., five bass, 15-13, $863
4th:        Grayson Brewster, Anderson, S.C., five bass, 15-4, $603
5th:        Charles Ellington, Cumming, Ga., five bass, 14-1, $494
5th:        Max Heaton, Hartwell, Ga., five bass, 14-1, $494
7th:        Eric Lovvorn, Archer, Fla., four bass, 14-0, $430
8th:        Guy Jordan, Gainesville, Ga., five bass, 13-12, $387
9th:        Justin Farmer, Woodstock, Ga., four bass, 13-7, $344
10th:     Austin Zigler, Clarkesville, Ga., five bass, 13-6, $301

Randy Reece of Woodstock, Georgia, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award of $402, catching a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 7 ounces – the largest co-angler catch of the day.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the region based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 19-21 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Norman in Huntersville, North Carolina. Boaters will fish for a top award of $60,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard and $10,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top award of $50,000, including a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury outboard.

The 2023 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and Strike King co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying event winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2023 All-American event will take place May 31-June 2, on Lake Hartwell in Seneca, South Carolina. The event is hosted by Visit Oconee SC.

Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, General Tire, Grundéns, Gill, Lew’s, Lowrance, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X and YETI.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Bass Fishing League updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.